August 2011 Archives

For the third year in a row, Eastern has made the list of "Great Colleges to Work For" released by The Chronicle of Higher Education. ModernThink LLC, an independent research company, surveyed 310 colleges and universities and more than 44,000 employees at those institutions to develop its findings. Only 111 colleges were awarded the distinction. The program is the second largest workplace recognition program in the country, after Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" program.

In addition to being recognized as a "Great College to Work For," Eastern also was recognized in four categories this year: "Collaborative Governance"; "Compensation and Benefits"; Facilities, Workspaces and Security"; and "Confidence in Senior Leadership."

"We are honored to be included in 'Great Colleges to Work For' three years in a row," said Eastern President Elsa Núñez. "Receiving this national recognition from the Chronicle of Higher Education is very gratifying, especially being recognized in so many critical areas of campus interaction. The spirit of collaboration that exists on our campus gives us a heightened capacity to better serve our students and the State of Connecticut." For complete results, visit http://chronicle.com/section/The-Academic-Workplace/156

Award-winning author Salman Rushdie will open Eastern's 11th Annual Arts and Lecture Series on Oct. 4 in the Betty R. Tipton Room in the Student Center. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Rushdie is the author of more than 10 fictional novels inspired by his homeland of India, as well as a book of stories, "East, West" and three works of nonfiction -- "Imaginary Homelands," "The Jaguar Smile" and "Step Across This Line."

Other Arts and Lecture events in 2011-12 include Actor Dan Lauria ("Lombardi" and "The Wonder Years"), who visits on Nov. 14; the U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band, which performs on Feb. 15; and Journalist Laura Ling, who will finish off the season on March 13. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu/artsandlecture.

On Sept. 9, Eastern will mark the 10th year observance of September 11, 2001 at 11 a. m. on the Gelsi-Young Hall lawn. During the observance, a "9/11 Tribute Tree" will be decorated with paper doves to promote world peace. Students working in the Center for Community Engagement spent the summer making 1,000 of the doves to honor those who perished on 9/11 and to promote world peace. Other events connected to the Sept. 11 observance include a University Hour presentation by Professor Charles Wynn on Sept. 7, who will describe how the events of Sept. 11 inspired him to write the book, "And God said, 'Let there be evolution!'; Reconciling the Book of Genesis, the Qur'an and the Theory of Evolution." Wynn's lecture is the first event in this year's University Hour series, and will begin at 3 p.m. in the Student Center Theatre.

On Sept. 10, Eastern students can sign up for a trip to the Connecticut Historical Society's 9/11 Exhibit in Hartford. The event is open to the first 20 students; to register, send an e-mail to cce@easternct.edu.

At 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, Eastern students will hold a candlelight vigil at the Foster Clock Tower. If it rains, the vigil will take place in the Paul E. Johnson Sr. Community Room in the J. Eugene Smith Library.

Throughout the week of Sept. 5, Eastern's Center for Community Engagement will be working in four local elementary afterschool programs to help children understand the events of 9/11. A giant banner, with handprints of schoolchildren and Eastern students, will be on display at the University's Student Center and hung in the Windham Town Hall the following week.

Governor Malloy brought his statewide summer Job's Tour to campus on Aug. 24 and held an engaging question and answer session with about 50 people in the Betty R. Tipton Room. During the visit, Malloy gathered input from local business people and other citizens on how to encourage business growth and development in Connecticut. Ideas and suggestions gathered in these meetings will be incorporated and submitted to the legislature for their consideration during a special fall session focused solely on job creation. State Sen. Donald Williams was also in attendance.

On Aug. 15, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy appointed Eastern President Elsa Núñez to a newly-formed task force that will review the effectiveness of the state's Education Cost Sharing (ECS) grant and how it relates to state constitutional requirements. The group will develop recommendations on possible ways to change how money is divided up by local school districts.

From July 10-29, approximately 20 high school juniors and seniors from more than 20 Connecticut school districts participated in Eastern's 15th annual Summer Institute for Future Teachers (SIFT) program. The program, supervised by Education Professor David Stoloff, is organized by Eastern and the Capital Region Education Council (CREC) and aims to increase the number of students who consider teaching as a career; emphasizes the growing role that technology plays in teaching and learning; and expands efforts to recruit teachers from the diverse communities in Connecticut. (Justin Delrio, of New Britain, is entertained by two students in the Windham Middle School cafeteria.)

Earlier this month, the Princeton Review announced that it has again rated Eastern as one of the Northeast's Best Colleges. In addition, the University was just informed that it had been admitted as a member of the New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability. This national advocacy group is committed to gathering, reporting on and using evidence to improve student learning in American undergraduate education.

From June 26 to Aug. 5, more than 70 students hoping to enroll in Eastern this fall participated in the 28th year of the Summer Transition at Eastern Program/Contract Admission Program (STEP/CAP). Students from Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Norwich, Waterbury, Willimantic and from out-of-state attended intensive credit-bearing courses in math and writing, as well as rigorous workshops in social sciences, library research methods, public speaking, study skills and critical thinking. Those who are successful will be admitted as freshmen for Eastern's fall semester. (Professor Reginald Flood listens in as students talk over the merits of short essays they had written for his "Introduction to Literature" course.)

On Nov. 13, David Belles, associate professor of music, will make his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall as part of the Mid America Production Concert Series. Belles' role as conductor is the culmination of a five-day Carnegie Hall residency that he was awarded in recognition of his national reputation in the field of choral music and the musicianship and artistry he brings to the stage. Eastern's Concert Chorale will join Belles on stage during the concert. The Chorale previously performed at Carnegie Hall in 2008 when it sang Mozart's "Requiem," and in 2005 when it appeared with groups from four other universities to perform Mozart's "Coronation Mass."

Anthony Aidoo, associate professor of mathematics and computer science, authored a paper, "Effect of Channel Geometry on the Electrostatic Potential in Acetylcholine Channels," published in "Mathematical Biosciences" in 2003. Eight years later, Aidoo's paper was recently selected as one of the "Top Ten Articles" of all time published in the same domain by BioMedLib. Congratulations, Professor Aidoo!

Eleven graduate students from Eastern's Reading Specialist Program spent five weeks this summer working one-on-one with struggling young elementary school readers in the summer school program held at Windham Middle School. The specialist candidates were able to apply the skills they have learned in their courses to assess student needs, provide individualized instruction and monitor the progress of the young readers. Every elementary school student made the equivalent of at least one year of progress during this concentrated program, while the graduate students were able to put their learning into practice. A student receives a high-five for his response in a word-study game from Specialist Candidate Nina Jackson.

Communication Professor Christopher Ayeni, a native of Nigeria, along with Glenn Cassis, executive director of the Connecticut African American Affairs Commission, recently introduced six senior members of Nigeria's National Assembly Service Commission to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state officials. The visit was part of the Nigerian government's yearly tours to various nations to interact with legislative bodies and senior members of executive branches, exchange knowledge and gain insight on best practices. The commission members held meetings with senior officials in the Offices of Legislative Research and Fiscal Analysis and the Connecticut African American Affairs Commission, of which Eastern Sociology Professor Dennis Canterbury is a member. The Connecticut General Assembly also recognized the visiting team on the floor during its special session. Above left, Professor Ayeni is greeted by Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Students in Art History Professor Anne Dawson's Honors course, "Art in the Italian Landscape," traveled extensively throughout Italy this summer to view a variety of famous architectural art treasures, including French sculptor Niki di St. Phalle's "Tarot Garden" in Tuscany; the Fountain of the River Gods at the Villa Farnese in Caprarola, Italy; the Park of Monsters in Bomarzo, Italy, a collection of volcanic rock carvings created by architect Pirro Ligorio in the 1500s; Etruscan tombs in Ceveteri; and churches, piazzas and other historical art in Viterbo, Bagnoregio and Florence. Pictured here is "The Ogre" in the Park of Monsters in Bomarzo.

Eastern's Drama Society will present two plays written by Woodstock Academy High School senior Jeremy Geragotelis at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 and 3 in the Betty R. Tipton Room. "Hemingway's Café" is directed by Katharine McManus and Stephanie LaPointe, and "Black Heroides" is directed by Seana Hendrickson. "Black Heroides" contains some adult themes and language and is intended for mature audiences. McManus, LaPointe and Hendrickson are Eastern students, as are all the actors in the plays. Admission is $3 for Eastern students with their IDs; $5 for general public. The plays are a fundraiser for Eastern's Drama Society.

Business Administration Professor Elizabeth Scott traveled to China and Australia on sabbatical this past year to study business ethics in both countries. In 2010, she received a national Fulbright-Hays Award to support her trip to China. While in Australia, she studied the faking and masking of emotions, but was clearly not faking or masking her delight while holding an orphan baby kangaroo she met on her travels to Kangaroo Island after her stay at Melbourne Business School.

Dwight Bachman, public relations officer, was among the speakers addressing more than 1,000 athletes, their families and friends at the World Scholar Athlete Games/World Youth Peace Summit (WSAG/WYPS) that took place June 26-July 5 at the University of Hartford. General Colin Powell also was on the program.

For the second year in a row, Eastern students and staff worked with the Windham Drug-Free Communities program and the Caleb Foundation, which operates the Village Heights Apartments, to provide 25 Windham students with individualized math tutoring during the Math Mania Camp. The camp was held June through August on the Eastern campus; funding was provided, in part, by the Connecticut State University System Bridges Grant. Focused on middle school students, the camp provided math instruction and enrichment activities, which were correlated to Windham Public School curriculum. The camp was enhanced by special programs offered by Health and Physical Education Professor Nanette Tummers and Chris Avtges, retail manager for Chartwells. Eastern's Athletic Department provided daily swimming in the Eastern pool.

In February 2009, Eastern President Elsa Núñez established the Ad Hoc University Budget Committee to help reduce costs, defray expenses and help balance the budget. She also asked the committee to discover innovative ways to identify and develop cost-saving opportunities on campus as part of the Works-$mart initiative. "Eastern's Work $mart program has received many suggestions to reduce energy consumption, ranging from turning off computers in computer labs when they are not in use to the eliminating some of our paper process by utilizing electronic requisitions and electronic signatures," said James Howarth, associate vice president of finance and administration. Besides energy-saving efforts, Eastern continues to manage its budget by reducing printing expenses; purchasing supplies in bulk; reducing the use of paper communications and not filling vacant staff positions.

More than 100 boys and girls participated in the Eastern men's soccer program's CWSA Summer Clinic in July. Under the direction of Eastern head coach Greg DeVito and assistant coach Adam Phaiah, the weeklong, all-day clinic involved boys and girls aged 5 to 14, and focused on dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting and heading. All proceeds from the clinic support the Eastern men's soccer program, which finished with a 14-4-3 record last year and qualified for postseason play for the fourth straight season.

Returning all but two key players from the most successful team in program history, Eastern's 2011 women's soccer team has been rated 14th nationally in the NSCAA Division III pre-season national rankings. Under head coach Chris D'Ambrosio, Eastern ended with a 16-1-5 record, won its first regional championship and captured its second outright LEC regular-season title.

The Warriors were ranked No. 1 in New England for four straight weeks in 2010 -- their first-ever top regional ranking -- and as high as No. 8 nationally. They also remained undefeated through two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

The two key losses from a year ago were the club's top defensive and offensive players respectively --two-time LEC Defensive Player-of-the-Year and second-team All-America defender Lauren Hickey, and first-team all-conference forward and third-team all-region pick Taylor Buchanan (Ellington). Hickey graduated and Buchanan will miss the 2011 season after sustaining an ACL injury this summer.

Eastern is one of only three New England teams ranked among the pre-season Top 25. Williams is sixth and Wheaton 22nd.

Eastern opens its 2011 home season hosting the Warrior Classic Sept. 2-3 and visit Rhode Island College in their conference opener Sept. 17.